On 1st of March 2022, five gender bills aimed at increasing the participation of women in politics and citizenship rights for foreign husbands of Nigerian women, were rejected by the members of a largely male House of Representatives.
It is important to note that similar bills had been rejected earlier when former Senator Biodun Olujimi pushed for institutionalised gender equality, proper inheritance rights for daughters and protection of widows.
Now, Nigeria and indeed most African countries, has a very dismal representation of women in politics. As of 2022, there were only seven female senators of the 109 senators.
According to a 2023 report by BusinessDay, that number has dropped to three and the number of female lawmakers in the House of Representatives slightly increased from ten women to thirteen women of the 360 members.
The importance of women politicians in Africa cannot be underestimated. For one, having women hold leadership positions sends a message to young girls watching that they can aspire to anything they want and must not diminish themselves.
All that said, it is important to note that women will benefit better when the women in power are actually pro women in how they go about their duties as politicians. It is not enough to have women in power if those women are endorsing domestic violence or encouraging women to kneel before their husbands.
The second example actually comes from President Samia Suluhu of Tanzania who said shortly after her swearing in that she still kneels for her husband.
While I understand that politics is volatile and women are often required to bend and twist to the will of male figureheads and politicians, wherever we see a manifestation of sexism from a female politician who ideally should be intentional about centering women’s rights, then we must call it out.
We must ensure that women who are in public office are not there to serve the needs of men but actively push for women’s rights. There is a lot that needs to be done for women and girls in African countries and we do not have the luxury of not being pro women. There is still the prevalence of female genital mutilation, lack of access to education, period poverty and domestic violence amongst many other social and religious barriers placed on women.
Again: We do not have the luxury of not being pro women and our politicians male and female must be held accountable when they act in ways that impede the rights of women.
Speaking with Rt. Honourable Oluwadamilola Agbaje Fatimat, the Deputy Speaker of the Ekiti State Youth Parliament, she says that pro-women female politicians are necessary because in most African countries, women make up a large percentage of the voting population.
She says: “There are various reasons why it is necessary for pro-women female politicians to be centred in African politics. The most important of which is the fact that women in Africa make up a large percentage of the population and the voting electorate. It is consequential that this strength be translated to actual gains that directly benefit women.
The bedrock of democracy is inclusion, and the trend of relegation of African Women and their rights is an impediment to the actualisation of the Africa that we want, as development and societal progress cannot be pigeonholed to just one strata of society.
In truth, the barriers of entry for all women into politics must first be lowered. This will have to include more affirmative action, change in societal messaging, more leadership mentoring tailored towards women, and breaking down the “Boys Club” nature of African politics.”
She went on to say: “Upon lowering the barrier of entry, then it will be feasible for women to organise as important voting blocks to support women who are not sexist. It is also very important that feminist women also branch into the leadership arena to provide a chain of support for other women.
Finally, there is also a need to interrogate women politicians before their ascension into political office, to ascertain their stances and ideals. This way we can also hold women politicians accountable in their various spaces.
My woman of choice is First Lady Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi, and this is because as a young lady from Ekiti State, I saw first hand how keenly she advocated for women and girls in the state. This advocacy eventually resulted in both policy, legal and societal changes.”
Victoria “Kintan” Oladipo, a political educator and founder of Learn PoliticsNG, echoes the words of Honourable Oluwadamilola Agbaje Fatimat when she says that we need to reduce the barrier to entry for women.
In her words: “First, the barrier of entry for women in politics is very high. First, we are trying to get more women in there, but as much as ideologies matter, the first point is that we reduce the barrier for entry for women in politics.
In the light of this, we need to train women. But the problem is that the women who are being trained are not very likely to get into power because of the obvious barriers that exist.
The women we call sexist are people who have been ingrained in the system for a long time who would likely not be trained.
So the most important issue is the advocacy for the removal of those barriers or policy on affirmative actions and quotas and then we focus on getting trained women there or training more women to get there.”
For Oreoluwa Shodipo, a law student and feminist, it is as simple as understanding that pro-women female politicians are more likely to protect women’s rights than men.
To quote her: “I think the reason for the need for women is politics is to simply protect the interests of women since men since time memorial have proven not to be protectors of women. Several reasons are responsible for the decline of women participation in politics.
First, women still see themselves as homemakers and if you see yourself as homemaker, it is hard for you to be somewhere else or prioritise somewhere that isn’t home. The second one is lack of funding.”
The reality is that women and especially African women do not have the luxury of not being pro women in how we approach politics and public participation. Our success depends on getting women who actively care about women into the seats of power and public office.
Until that is done, women’s rights may never be fully accomplished especially in the areas of feminist policy and the reversal of anti women laws.
Image: Former Nigerian Senator Aisha Dahiru Ahmed (Binani).
Angel Nduka-Nwosu is a writer, journalist and editor. She moonlights occasionally as a podcaster on As Angel Was Sayin’. Catch her on all socials @asangelwassayin.
